Smart container

ABSTRACT

The present invention is for a smart container that allows consumers the ability to quickly and easily disassembled the container to allow families to extract the substance from the bottom of the container, so families can save food and money. The smart container is equip with a tamper proof label that has a seal to alert consumers when a label of the container has been broken or tampered with. The label for said container is applied to the hollow body member and the receptacle base member. The label has advertising indicia place on the container so as to be able to market the manufacturer&#39;s brand of goods. The smart container is also able to adjust the size of the container so as to save fridge and/or counter space, when the top portion of the container has been used.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 120 and underall applicable U.S. statutes and regulations, to U.S. application Ser.No.: 12/380,534, filed Feb. 27, 2009.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an article of manufacture intended foruse as a container. The invention enables a user to adjust the size ofthe container based upon the amount of substance held in the container,in an effort to save fridge and/or counter space. As such, there is aneed in the art for a Smart Container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wholesale warehouse chains such as Costco and Walmart (Sam's Club)focuses on selling products at low prices often at very high volume.These goods are usually bulk-packaged and marketed primarily to largefamilies and businesses. Furthermore, those wholesale warehouse chainsdo not carry multiple brands or varieties where the item is essentiallythe same except when it has a house brand to sell, typically under theKirkland Signature label for Costco or the Member's Mark for Sam's Club.This results in high volume of sales from single vendor, allowingfurther reduction in price, and reducing marketing costs. Thosewholesale warehouse chains also saves money by not stocking extra bagsor packing materials; to carry out their goods, customers must bringtheir own bags or use the merchandise shipping boxes from the company'soutside vendors.

In an effort to save money more and more businesses, families, andindividuals are shopping at wholesale warehouse chains. As a resultbusinesses, families, and individuals are stuck with large bulkycontainers that store these various edible substances or foods such aspeanut butter, mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard. Unfortunately, some ofthese large bulky items require fridgeration. While other items justrequire counter or storage space. As such, there is a need in the artfor manufactures to put the various goods in a Smart Container, whichcan save fridge and/or counter space.

The manufactures of peanut butter and mayonnaise as well other goodshave been manufacturing their products using the same old storagecontainer design for numerous years now with any change.

In fact, in a difficult economy families are looking for a way to save abuck. Unfortunately, manufactures have not kept up with the times inmanufacturing their products in new storage containers that can helpfamily extract the various substances from the bottom of a container,which are always difficult to extract. Therefore, there is a need in theart for a new container that can help families extract all of theremaining substance from the bottom of a container, thereby saving thosefamilies money.

A typically problem that most user's encounter when reaching into thelower portion of a container is that the user will get a substance onhis/her hands and/or clothing when reaching into the container. As aresult, some consumers are discouraged from digging into the lowerportion of a container. Therefore, there is a need in the art for aSmart Container.

A benefit of the Smart Container is that after an user has consumed halfor more than half of the substance held in the container, a user canun-screw the top portion of the container from the bottom portion of thecontainer and then discard that top portion of the container and justuse the lower portion of the container to make it easier to extract thesubstance from the lower portion of the container, so the user does notget any of the substance on his/her hands and/or clothing. As a result,user's are able to extract all of the substance from the bottom of thecontainer and extend the life of the substance contained on thecontainer and save families money.

The Smart Container is a versatile device that is comprised of a topportion of a Container, a bottom portion of a Container, and a screw toplid. The Smart Container is designed to hold numerous substancesincluding but not limited to peanut butter, jelly, jam, and mayonnaise.One of the benefits of the Smart Container is that it can bedisassembled after an user has consumed half or more than half of thesubstance held in the Container to save fridge and/or counter space. Theuser would un-screw the top portion of the Container from the bottomportion of the container and then just use the lower portion of thecontainer with the screw top lid. Another benefit of the Smart Containeris that a user can easily extract all of the substance from the bottomof the container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to provide a new manufacturingcontainer for various manufactures intended use, to hold numeroussubstances including but not limited to peanut butter, jelly, jam, andmayonnaise, wherein the container's size and volumetric capacity can beadjusted, as the substance contained within the container is consumed bya user.

It also an object of the invention to provide a manufacturer's containerwhich can be disassembled quickly and easily to allow families toextract the substance from the bottom of the container, so families cansave food and money.

It an object of the invention to provide a label that is applied to saidhollow body member and said receptacle base member, wherein said labelis perforated around the point where said hollow body member and saidreceptacle base member are connect to allow for quick and easyseparation of the top half and bottom half of the label that is appliedto the container, through the use of threading.

It an further object of the invention to provide a label that is tamperresistant and provides notice to consumers when the seal of the labelhas been broken.

It an also object of the invention to provide a label having advertisingindicia place on said label to market the manufacturer's brand.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a manufacturer'scontainer that can be disassembled after an user has consumed half ofthe substance held in the container.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a manufacturer'scontainer that can be disassembled after an user has consumed more thanhalf of the substance held in the container.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a manufacturer'scontainer that can be disassembled after an user has consumed more thanhalf of the substance held in the container.

It is one of the objectives of the invention to decrease the container'svolumetric capacity as desired, by unscrewing the hollow body member ofthe container.

It is also an objectives of the invention to provide a newmanufacturer's container that can be disassembled to save fridge and/orcounter space, when needed.

It is also one of the objectives of the invention to provide a newmanufacturer's container that can be disassembled to allow families toeasily extract all of the substance from the bottom of the container.

It is another objectives of the invention to provide a newmanufacturer's container that can be disassembled so the user does notget any of the substance on his/her hands and/or clothing; allowing theuser to easily extract a substance such as peanut butter, or mayonnaisefrom a receptacle base member of the container.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a containerthat is easy to manufacture, simple to assemble, reliable in operation,and relatively inexpensive to produce.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent in view ofthe drawings and the detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These as well as other features of the present invention will becomemore apparent upon reference to the accompanying drawings wherein likenumerals designate corresponding parts in the several figures summarizedas follows:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the assembled Smart Container showingthe hollow body member of the container, the receptacle base member ofthe container, and a screw top lid are connected.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the assembled Smart Container showingthat the screw top lid is connected to the receptacle base member of thecontainer.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the disassembled Smart Container showingthe hollow body member of the container, the receptacle base member ofthe container, and the screw top lid.

FIG. 4 is the front view of the disassembled Smart Container.

FIG. 5 is the back view of the disassembled Smart Container.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the disassembled Smart Container.

FIG. 7 is the other side view of the disassembled Smart Container.

FIG. 8 is a top view of the disassembled Smart Container.

FIG. 9 is a bottom view of the disassembled Smart Container.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, variousfeatures of embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description and accompanying drawings areprovided for purposes of illustrating and describing presently preferredembodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit thescope of the invention in anyway. It will be understood that variouschanges in the details, materials, arrangements of parts or operationalconditions which have been herein described and illustrated in order toexplain the nature of the invention may be made by those skilled in theart within the principles and the scope of the invention.

Referring to the drawings more particularly by reference numbers, FIGS.1 through 9 show a storage container 20. The present invention providesan apparatus and method for altering the size and capacity of a storagecontainer 20 comprised of a hollow body member 30, a receptacle basemember 40, and a cap member 50.

As shown, the hollow body member 30 has a male threaded portion 33 and afemale threaded portion 34 at the respective ends 36 of said hollowmember.

As shown, the receptacle base member 40 has a male threaded portion 43at the top end 47 of said receptacle base.

The male threaded portion 33 of the hollow body member 30 is positionedat the top end 37 and the female threaded portion 34 of the hollow bodymember 30 is positioned at the bottom end 38, so that the femalethreaded portion 34 of the hollow body member 30 can be attached to orremoved from the male threaded portion 33 of the receptacle base member40.

A label 60 having advertising indicia place on said label 60 which isattached to said container 20 to market the manufacturer's brand. Thelabel 60 is applied to said hollow body member 30 and said receptaclebase member 40. The label 64 is perforated 70 where said hollow bodymember and said receptacle base member connect to allow for quick andeasy separation of the top half 62 and bottom half 64 of the label 60that is applied to the container 20, through the use of threading.

As shown, in order to decrease the container's size and volumetriccapacity, a user would need to remove the hollow body member 30 from thereceptacle base member 40.

As shown, in order to increase the container's size and volumetriccapacity, a user would need to attach the hollow body member 30 to thereceptacle base member 40.

As shown, the cap member 50 has female threads 54 within the rim 55thereof to mate with the male threads 33 or 43 on the hollow body member30 or the receptacle base member 40 of the container.

The cap member 50 is used to secure the contents of the varioussubstances in the container, whether the container 20 is comprised of(a) a hollow body member 30, a receptacle base member 40 and a capmember 50; or (b) a receptacle base member 40 and a cap member 50.

In an effort to save money, more and more businesses, families, andindividuals are shopping at wholesale warehouse chains. As a resultbusinesses, families, and individuals are buying large bulky containersthat store these various edible substances or foods such as peanutbutter, mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard. Some of these large bulkyitems require fridgeration. While other items just require counter orstorage space. As such, there is a need in the art for products to bemanufactured in Smart Containers, which can help save fridge and/orcounter space when some of the edible substance contained in thecontainer is consumed. Unfortunately, manufactures have not kept up withthe times in manufacturing their products in new storage containers.Additionally, there is a need in the art for a Smart Container that canhelp families extract all of the remaining substance from the bottom ofa container to prevent waste as well as preventing the person fromgetting the substance on his/her hands and/or clothing when reachingthey reach into the bottom of the container.

Wherein a user has consumed the substance contained in a hollow bodymember 30 of the container, thereby allowing said user to unscrew andremove said hollow body member 30 from said receptacle base member 40 ofsaid container to decrease said volumetric capacity of the container andallow said user to unscrew said cap member 50 from said hollow bodymember and then attached said cap member 50 to said receptacle basemember 40 of said container, and as a result, said hollow body member isdiscarded and said container's size and volumetric capacity hasdecreased.

A method for altering a food container's size and volumetric capacitycomprising the steps of providing a substance that is edible; acontainer for holding a substance; said container has a hollow bodymember, a receptacle base member, and a cap member; said hollow bodymember is a hollow body member having a male threaded portion and afemale threaded portion at the respective ends of said hollow member;said receptacle base member is a receptacle having a male threadedportion at the top end of said receptacle; and said cap member hasthreads within the rim thereof to mate with threads on the hollow bodymember or the receptacle base member; and wherein said container's sizeand volumetric capacity is altered by positioning said cap member on thehollow body member or receptacle base member of the container toincrease or decrease the capacity of said container; wherein saidquantity of said substance has decreased because a user has consumed allof said substance held in the hollow body member of the container,thereby allowing said user to unscrew said hollow body member of saidcontainer from said receptacle base member of said container to decreasesaid volumetric capacity of the container and allow said user to unscrewsaid cap member from said hollow body member and then attached said capmember to said receptacle base member of said container, as a result,said container's size and volumetric capacity has decreased; and whereinsaid quantity of said substance has increased because a user has createdan additional substance, said user will need to expand the volumetriccapacity of the container, by allowing said user to unscrew said capmember from said receptacle base member of said container and attachsaid hollow body member to said receptacle base member of said containerto increase said volumetric capacity of the container, then allow saiduser to add said additional substance to said container to increasevolumetric capacity, then after said additional substance has beenadded, said cap member is attached to said hollow body member of saidcontainer, as a result, said container's size and volumetric capacityhas increased.

In the preferred method of this invention for allowing consumers to havequick and easy access to edible substance contained in the bottom of acontainer comprising the steps of providing a container for holding asubstance that is edible; said container has a hollow body member, areceptacle base member, and a cap member; said hollow body member has amale threaded portion and a female threaded portion at the respectiveends of said hollow member; said receptacle base member has a malethreaded portion at the top end of said receptacle; said cap member hasthreads within the rim thereof to mate with threads on the hollow bodymember or the receptacle base member, said hollow body member and saidreceptacle base member have a label which is applied to said members,said label is perforated near the point where said hollow body memberand said receptacle base member are connected through the use ofthreading, said label has advertising indicia place on the container tomarket a manufacturer's brand of goods; and wherein said quantity ofsaid substance has decreased because a user has consumed all of saidsubstance held in the hollow body member of the container, then saiduser can break said perforated label by unscrewing said hollow bodymember from said receptacle base member and discard the hollow bodymember of the container so said user can gain quick and easy access tothe edible substance in said receptacle base member.

Wherein the hollow body member and the receptacle base member havedifferent volumetric capacity.

Wherein said hollow body member and said receptacle base member are ofsubstantially the same volumetric capacity.

Wherein said hollow body member and said receptacle base member areformed of a clear material.

A smart container comprising: a hollow body member, a receptacle basemember, and a cap member; said hollow body member has a male threadedportion and a female threaded portion at the respective ends of saidhollow member; said receptacle base member has a male threaded portionat the top end of said receptacle; said hollow body member and saidreceptacle base member have a label which is applied to said members;said label is perforated around where said hollow body member and saidreceptacle base member are connected through the use of threading; saidlabel has advertising indicia place on the container to market amanufacturer's brand of goods; and said cap member has female threadswithin the rim thereof to mate with male threads on the hollow bodymember or the receptacle base member of the container.

Wherein said manufacturer has filled the container with an ediblesubstance and a user has consumed all of said edible substance held insaid hollow body member of the container.

Wherein said user want to quickly and easily extract said ediblesubstance from said receptacle base member, then said user can breaksaid perforated label by unscrewing said hollow body member from saidreceptacle base member and discard the hollow body member of thecontainer so said user can gain quick and easy access to the ediblesubstance in said receptacle base member.

Wherein said user wants to free up counter space, then said user canbreak said perforated label by unscrewing said hollow body member fromsaid receptacle base member and discard the hollow body member of thecontainer, and then attached said cap member to said receptacle basemember of said container, as a result, said container's size andvolumetric capacity has decreased thereby free up counter space.

Wherein said user wants to free up space in a refrigerator for thecontainer, then said user can break said perforated label by unscrewingsaid hollow body member from said receptacle base member and discard thehollow body member of the container, and then attached said cap memberto said receptacle base member of said container, as a result, saidcontainer's size and volumetric capacity has decreased thereby free uprefrigerator space.

Wherein the hollow body member and the receptacle base member havedifferent volumetric capacity.

Wherein said hollow body member and said receptacle base member are ofsubstantially the same volumetric capacity.

Wherein said hollow body member and said receptacle base member areformed of a clear material.

The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered inall respects as illustrative and not restrictive; the scope of theinvention being indicated by the appended claims, rather than theforegoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning andrange of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embracedtherein.

While the description above refers to particular embodiments of thepresent invention, it will be understood that many modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit thereof. The presently disclosedembodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive.

1. A smart container device for allowing consumers to have quick andeasy access to edible substance contained in the bottom of a containercomprising: a hollow body member, a receptacle base member, and a capmember; said hollow body member has a male threaded portion and a femalethreaded portion at the respective ends of said hollow member; saidreceptacle base member has a male threaded portion at the top end ofsaid receptacle; said hollow body member and said receptacle base memberhave a label which is applied to said members; said label is perforatedaround where said hollow body member and said receptacle base member areconnected, wherein said perorated label is tamper resistant so as toprovides notice to a consumer when a seal of said label has been broken;said label has advertising indicia place on the container to market amanufacturer's brand of goods; said cap member has female threads withinthe rim thereof to mate with male threads on the hollow body member orthe receptacle base member of the container; after said manufacturer hasfilled the container with an edible substance and had said consumerconsume all of said edible substance held in said hollow body member ofthe container; wherein said consumer wants to quickly and easily extractsaid edible substance from said receptacle base member, then saidconsumer can break said seal of said perforated label by unscrewing saidhollow body member from said receptacle base member and discard thehollow body member of the container so said consumer can gain quick andeasy access to the edible substance in said receptacle base member;wherein said consumer wants to free up counter space, then said consumercan break said perforated label by unscrewing said hollow body memberfrom said receptacle base member and discard the hollow body member ofthe container, and then attached said cap member to said receptacle basemember of said container, as a result, said container's size andvolumetric capacity has decreased thereby free up counter space; andwherein said consumer wants to free up space in a refrigerator for thecontainer, then said consumer can break said perforated label byunscrewing said hollow body member from said receptacle base member anddiscard the hollow body member of the container, and then attached saidcap member to said receptacle base member of said container, as aresult, said container's size and volumetric capacity has decreasedthereby free up refrigerator space.
 2. The Container according to claim1, wherein said edible substance is selected from a group consisting ofpeanut butter, jelly, jam, and mayonnaise,
 3. The Container according toclaim 1, wherein said edible substance is a condiment.
 4. A smartcontainer comprising: a hollow body member, a receptacle base member,and a cap member; said hollow body member has a male threaded portionand a female threaded portion at the respective ends of said hollowmember; said receptacle base member has a male threaded portion at thetop end of said receptacle; said hollow body member and said receptaclebase member have a label which is applied to said members; said labelhas a perforated seal around where said hollow body member and saidreceptacle base member are connected through the use of threading; saidperorated seal is tamper resistant so as to provides notice when theseal of said label has been broken; said label provides a good surfacefor advertising indicia on said label which is attached to the containerto market a manufacturer's brand of goods; and said cap member hasfemale threads within the rim thereof to mate with male threads on thehollow body member or the receptacle base member of the container. 5.The Container according to claim 4, wherein said edible substance isselected from a group consisting of peanut butter, jelly, jam, andmayonnaise.
 6. The Container according to claim 4, wherein said ediblesubstance is a condiment.
 7. The container according to claim 4, whereinsaid manufacturer has filled the container with an edible substance anda user has consumed all of said edible substance held in said hollowbody member of the container.
 8. The container according to claim 7,wherein said user want to quickly and easily extract said ediblesubstance from said receptacle base member, then said user can breaksaid perforated label by unscrewing said hollow body member from saidreceptacle base member and discard the hollow body member of thecontainer so said user can gain quick and easy access to the ediblesubstance in said receptacle base member.
 9. The container according toclaim 7, wherein said user wants to free up counter space, then saiduser can break said perforated label by unscrewing said hollow bodymember from said receptacle base member and discard the hollow bodymember of the container, and then attached said cap member to saidreceptacle base member of said container, as a result, said container'ssize and volumetric capacity has decreased thereby free up counterspace.
 10. The container according to claim 7, wherein said user wantsto free up space in a refrigerator for the container, then said user canbreak said perforated label by unscrewing said hollow body member fromsaid receptacle base member and discard the hollow body member of thecontainer, and then attached said cap member to said receptacle basemember of said container, as a result, said container's size andvolumetric capacity has decreased thereby free up refrigerator space.11. The container according to claim 4, wherein said container's sizeand volumetric capacity is decreased by removing said hollow body memberof the container from said receptacle base member of the container. 12.The container according to claim 4, wherein said container's size andvolumetric capacity is increased by attaching said hollow body member ofthe container to said receptacle base member of the container.
 13. Thecontainer according to claim 4, wherein said hollow body member and saidreceptacle base member are comprised of a plastic material.
 14. Thecontainer according to claim 4, wherein said hollow body member and saidreceptacle base member are comprised of a glass material.
 15. A methodfor allowing consumers to have quick and easy access to edible substancecontained in the bottom of a container comprising the steps of :providing a container for holding a substance that is edible; saidcontainer has a hollow body member, a receptacle base member, and a capmember; said hollow body member has a male threaded portion and a femalethreaded portion at the respective ends of said hollow member; saidreceptacle base member has a male threaded portion at the top end ofsaid receptacle; said cap member has threads within the rim thereof tomate with threads on the hollow body member or the receptacle basemember, said hollow body member and said receptacle base member have alabel which is applied to said members, said label is perforated nearthe point where said hollow body member and said receptacle base memberare connected through the use of threading, said perorated seal istamper resistant so as to provides notice when the seal of said labelhas been broken, and said label has advertising indicia place on thecontainer to market a manufacturer's brand of goods; and wherein saidquantity of said substance has decreased because a user has consumed allof said substance held in the hollow body member of the container, thensaid user can break said perforated label by unscrewing said hollow bodymember from said receptacle base member and discard the hollow bodymember of the container so said user can gain quick and easy access tothe edible substance in said receptacle base member.
 16. A methodaccording to claim 15, wherein said user wants to free up counter space,then said user can break said perforated label by unscrewing said hollowbody member from said receptacle base member and discard the hollow bodymember of the container, and then attached said cap member to saidreceptacle base member of said container, as a result, said container'ssize and volumetric capacity has decreased thereby free up counterspace.
 17. A method according to claim 15, wherein said user wants tofree up space in a refrigerator for the container, then said user canbreak said perforated label by unscrewing said hollow body member fromsaid receptacle base member and discard the hollow body member of thecontainer, and then attached said cap member to said receptacle basemember of said container, as a result, said container's size andvolumetric capacity has decreased thereby free up refrigerator space.18. A method according to claim 15, wherein said container's size andvolumetric capacity is decreased by removing said hollow body member ofthe container from said receptacle base member of the container.
 19. Amethod according to claim 15, wherein said edible substance is selectedfrom a group consisting of peanut butter, jelly, jam, and mayonnaise,20. A method according to claim 15, wherein said edible substance is acondiment.